The first green lithium chloride produced in Europe

Sustainability and resilience in the mobility transition The first green lithium chloride produced in Europe

2024-04-29 From Susanne Braun | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

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Right from the company's foundation in 2018, the decision-makers at Vulcan Energy were determined to shape the future of mobility as a "Zero Carbon Lithium Company". It has now been announced that the facility has extracted the first lithium from the Upper Rhine Trench.

Vulcan's lithium extraction optimization plant produces Europe's first green lithium chloride.(Image: Vulcan) — Vulcan's lithium extraction optimization plant produces Europe's first green lithium chloride.
(Image: Vulcan)

The Upper Rhine Plain is a vast geomorphological region in Central Europe that extends along the upper course of the Rhine and lies in southwestern Germany and eastern France. The plain is characterized by the Rhine river and its tributaries and extends from Basel in Switzerland to Mannheim in Germany.

To exploit the lithium potential of the region, the company Vulcan Energy has set up a Lithium Extraction Optimization Plant (LEOP) in Landau. In the geothermally active region, the hot brine water is brought to the surface anyway to be used in the geothermal plants for energy production. Afterwards, the water is pumped back into the depths. Vulcan is now intervening in this cycle with an extraction mechanism. The associated plant started production of green and climate-neutral lithium chloride in April 2024. This is the first lithium that was completely produced in Europe.

European countries such as Portugal, Spain, Germany, Austria and Finland have been identified in the past as promising locations for the extraction of this important raw material because of discoveries or suspicions about the presence of lithium. However, lithium producers are primarily found in countries such as Chile, Australia, China and Argentina. To consolidate Europe's independence in the market and build resilience, as Li-ion batteries will continue to be the batteries of the energy transition for some time, companies like Vulcan Energy and projects like Vulcan's "Zero Carbon Lithium" are therefore needed.

Green lithium from Europe

"By using direct lithium extraction through adsorption (A-DLE), the company was able to achieve an efficiency of over 90% (up to 95%) in the extraction of lithium from geothermal brine in the LEOP (Lithium Extraction Optimization Plant)", the company reports. This repeated the results that had already been tested for over three years in laboratories and in pilot plants in Insheim, directly neighbouring Landau.

"Vulcan has now proven that the sustainable method of direct lithium extraction through adsorption (A-DLE), which currently accounts for 10% of global lithium production, can also be successfully performed with geothermal brine from the Upper Rhine trench," it continues. The plan now is to process the lithium chloride into battery-ready lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM); the as yet unfinished lithium electrolysis optimization plant in Frankfurt-Höchst will then be used for this. The topping-out ceremony was recently celebrated and the plant is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024. Accordingly, it can then produce the first LHM that was completely obtained in Europe.

Both plants, the one in Frankfurt-Höchst and in Landau, are optimization plants and precursors for the planned commercial plants, which are expected to have a production capacity of 24,000 LHM per year. "The start of production at the LEOP marks a significant milestone in the development of a domestic value chain to supply the European battery industry with lithium. Our facility is equipped with the latest and leading technology to demonstrate the efficiency of our A-DLE process and its environmental benefits," explains Cris Moreno, Managing Director and CEO of Vulcan. (sb)

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